Joel Katte speaks to staff and teachers at Lima Senior High School on Tuesday.
Dean Brown | The Lima News
LIMA — Lima City Schools employees met in the gymnasium at Lima Senior High School for a welcome to the school year of 2022-23. Joel Katte from Lexington, Kentucky, was the speaker. Katte has been a staff developer and speaker since 2013.
“He inspires educators to maximize their relationships with students, colleagues, families and community members. He helps us realize that the most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves,” said Lima City School Superintendent Jill Ackerman.
“You are the best walking advertisements for this profession and this district,” Katte told the group.
Katte told the teachers and staff, “Our work is hard and difficult. Life is hard and difficult. So what fuels me is igniting passion and purpose. The great Mickey Mantle had over 500 home runs. Baseball is all about individual statistics. But on his plaque at Yankee Stadium, it says in the boldest letters it says ‘A great teammate.’ Wow, what a legacy. What are you going to do today? What are you going to commit to this year to be known as a great teammate?”
In the story David and Goliath, David was considered by some to be the underdog. Katte explained his take on the Biblical story. “He was no underdog. He showed up with a weapon that he was skilled with, that he knew how to use and he fought his way. If he walked in and fought Goliath’s way, he’s going to go down every time. He fought with his plan. I feel like some of us are walking into our classrooms, walking into the expectations from the state and whatever else we know we’re getting. You can be more of you and bring more of you into the classroom and bring your strengths and your passions and your interests and you’re gonna win these battles. Every time,” he said.
“If there’s something in your life, in your passion that you can live in the school community and engage your students and build relationships with your students, do that. I honestly believe as hard as last year was, that never before in education and never again in education will there be a better time than right now to personalize teaching and learning. You have to be you and you have to bring the best of you. And whatever that is, if you let it out, the kids are going to connect. I want you to find a spot in your school community where you can turn it up and consistently give and do something. Maybe it’s standing at the door, maybe it’s lunch supervision, maybe it’s recess. It’s a high five, a fist bump, or sort of connection that you can do every day.”
Through stories from his own experiences, Katte relayed to the staff and teachers for the Lima City Schools that the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself. Professionals who care for others are often the worst at taking care of themselves. Educators sometimes fall victim to putting their needs, hopes, and dreams on the back burner in order to serve others. Striking a work/life balance is not easy today in schools but it is paramount for teacher retention and sustaining long-term results.
Katte believes that everywhere we go, there is an energy, and we are each responsible for the energy we bring. There is only one person we can control, ourselves. It’s never too late to own that energy to transform your school year, career and the legacy you leave behind.
Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409
